SEPTEMBER 13

If the ringing of the last bell was a blessing for many students, for Richard it was just something that made his headache worse, which he had been suffering since dawn. That sound would force its way into his ears, only to rumble amplified in his brain, like an amplifier, and the pain would only pulse on repeat.

At last he stood up and, with tired eyes and a slow gait, walked out of the lecture hall; at least it had been an hour in which he had been able to unplug his brain for a while, sitting among the last rows. That's because, faced with the great effort of having to continually counter an AI capable of destroying the world, the boy was showing the first signs of stress: for a few days he had begun to spend his free time between classes by doing continuous research, double-checking and triple-checking to find a way to trap XANA inside the supercomputer, and then erase everything. Simple in theory, but a crazy mess in practice.

As he left the classroom, in the middle of the crowd of students, he felt a hand touch his shoulder. As he turned around, without seeing clearly in front of him, he ended up banging his head against someone else's, who only after focusing his vision did he recognize as Sylviane Cellier, nicknamed "Syl" for at least two weeks. The girl was staring at him without saying a word, with her usual calm and somewhat cold gaze. Meanwhile he was struck by a dizziness, leading him to lean against the wall, looking even more ill.

"...The more time that passes, the more he's on to me...what is it that she sees in me, a spirit that wants to eat my soul?"

Richard: -Ahh...sorry, I didn't see you...-.

He didn't even have the strength to speak clearly, and maybe she didn't even heard him; however, out of the blue, Syl placed her hand on Richard's forehead, without saying anything. And the next thing she knew, with amazing swiftness, she had grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him through the corridors of the school, with him trying to keep up.

Richard: -...what are you doing? -

Syl: -I'm taking you to the nurse's office: you're hotter than a pot. –

Richard: -...huh? No listen, I just have a little headache. Look, don't waste my time, you know what I have to do... -

Syl: -Working on the supercomputer like this? Forget it, you need to rest now. -

Richard: -Why are you worrying so much, you're not my dad.. -

The girl stopped her march and turned sharply to Richard, with a very serious, almost irate, if still composed look on her face, causing him to shut his mouth.

Syl: -No, but I'm your...I'm your friend, and I'm just as involved as you are! I can understand everything, but slaving away until you're nauseous isn't going to do you any good, and if you're going to lead the group, I'd rather you do it the best you can. -

She didn't even allow time to respond and started dragging him back to the infirmary, but this time Richard didn't resist. Upon hearing the words "if you're going to lead the group," he'd cringed a bit. It wasn't good to remember involving three other people in a mess as big as this one.

Eventually the duo crossed the threshold of the school infirmary, which had a fairly standard appearance: white tints, hospital beds, lockers that were now sparsely stocked with medications, and the desk at which sat Emily LeDuc, a former Kadick student who had decided to stay on at the institution as a doctor for the students. As soon as she heard the door open, the bespectacled woman turned her gaze to the two boys.

Emily: -What's the matter, guys, are you both sick? –

Syl: -He is, to be accurate: he is burning up and has a headache. –

Emily: -Damn, I'm really missing my fever medicine; I need to go and retrieve them. In the meantime, Richard please lie down on the bed, at least I can give you something for the pains. –

Given her insistence and the throbbing that was only getting worse, Richard decided to listen to her and lay down on the hospital bed while he was given a tablet and a glass of water. He didn't even question what he was being given, and took it without blinking. Soon after, his temperature was taken: thirty-nine and seven degrees. He was on the threshold of a horse fever.

Emily: -Sorry again, you caught me off guard. Sylviane, I might be out for a while, so could you stay with him? Oh, and put an ice pack on his head, at least it will bring his temperature down. –

Syl: -All right. –

As the doctor left to go to the pharmacies, Sylviane wasted no time and immediately found and put the ice pack on Richard's hot forehead. Richard exhaled a short breath of relief: the bag helped with the heat, and the headache medicine was starting to take effect, although slowly.

The girl sat down in a chair next to the bed, and pulled another thick tome out of her backpack, which she resumed reading where she had left off. Silence fell over the room for at least three minutes, before Richard decided to open his mouth, his tongue a bit slurred from fatigue.

Richard: -Don't you ever get tired of reading? -

Syl: -And you never get tired of programming? –

Richard: -Okay, I get it. What do you French say? Ah yes: touché. –

…

…

Richard: -Hey, can I ask you a question? –

Syl: -Didn't you just asked me one? –

Richard: -Ugh... ok listen: why do I often find you around me? –

Syl: - Hahaha! What's the matter, can't i worry about you? Look, I can tell you're stressed, the others have noticed it too. –

Richard: -All right, but for all the times I found you next to me, by now I wouldn't be surprised if I found a love letter from you, in February fourteenth ... -

Syl: -And even if I did? Would that be a problem for you? –

Richard: - Hey I didn't sayed tha- oh. -

His sentence stopped in mid-sentence, having realized he had been fooled by Sylviane's rhetoric. Twice.

Richard: -...I give up...-

Syl: -Hehehe... as you wish, then. –

More minutes of silence filled the room, while the doctor had not yet arrived; how much time had passed? Richard for his part couldn't even remember seeing a clock.

Syl: -Well, now it's my turn to ask you a question. If I get too personal, stop me, all right? –

The boy answered with a simple nod of his head.

Syl: -...well, how is it going with your parents? –

To say that he was surprised was not enough: slowly Richard raised his torso and turned his gaze towards Sylviane, meeting once again those eyes of different colors, green and blue.

Richard: -What do you know about mine? Wait don't tell me: Ed has told you -

Syl: -I'm sorry, wrong answer... -

Richard: -So Maya told you, who in turn found it out from Ed... -

Syl: -Wrong again: let's say I accidentally met your mother. –

Richard: - Huh? -

Syl: -I think it's time I tell you a story... –

A WEEK AGO

It was a Sunday afternoon, in which the students could leave the institute enjoying a more permissive curfew. Sylviane was out for a walk in the city, and out of sheer curiosity she had decided to stop in a photography store, which inside displayed not only cameras, videocameras and rolls of film, but an entire wall was set up with beautiful shots; all was set in a minimal but warmly colored environment, giving a certain sense of welcome.

He walked inside, jingling an evergreen bell above the door. Behind the counter, which also served as a display case for the cameras, there was a woman in her thirties, good looking, with short dark red hair; she was wearing a plaid shirt, rolled up to her elbows, and was busy scribbling on what was most likely a receipt book. As soon as the bell rang, she turned her head to the girl who had just entered.

Laney: -Good morn' Lassie...oh sorry, it's a bad habit. So, what can I do for you? –

Syl: -Ah, no worries, I just wanted to take a look... -

Laney: -Oh, then go ahead! You're certainly not the first one to come here just to see my shots! –

Syl: -Are these all your pictures? –

Laney: -Aye, they are, and I can say I'm definitely proud of them. –

Sylviane began to observe the entire wall on which the woman's photographs were displayed: they ranged in various themes, techniques and colors. From landscapes of the Highlands to scenes of daily life; from stormy skies to more mysterious and enigmatic photos. All of excellent quality, of this there was no doubt. But a small question crossed the girl's mind: she had already heard that way of speaking... she instinctively checked if the photos had a signature, and they did: Laney Allen.

"...Wait a minute, you're not Richard's mother, are you?"

Confirmation came as a kind of providence: a burly man in his forties entered the store, with a thick beard framing his face. He was dressed heavily, and looked tired, but at the same time he radiated energy and happiness.

-Your brother is also a nuisance? –

Laney: -Shite! Caleb, what are you doing here? -

The brother duo greeted each other with a strong hug, even though the counter was in the way.

Caleb: -You know that i drive the van all the way from Glasgow to here, right? Well, I've got a few free hours now, so I thought I'd come see you. So, how are you? Everything okay with the store? -

Laney: -I'm fine. In fact, i'm very fine, and the store is about to run smooth as hell: I'm gonna be getting a special order in a few weeks, state-of-the-art stuff! I'll be able to say I'm one of the first retailers to put the new models on sale! –

Caleb: -Perfect! Stubborn as you are, I had no doubt you would make it. And tell me: a little birdie from London told me that someone is back in the nest...-

Laney: -Oh...aye...yes, Richard has come to live here. Well, sort of, he's staying at the Kadick now as an interned student...you know we have some space issues...and then we don't want to burden him with all of that mess...-

Caleb: -We've talked about this, Laney: stop feeling so guilty; I mean you were fifteen and wham, you have to raise a kid, nobody in the family blames you; I would have shit my pants too. Besides, it's not like you abandoned him on the street: Henry's cousins raised him properly, didn't they? -

Laney: -I know, I know...it's just that it's not gonna be easy, you know, when we'll meet for the first time in ten years...who knows maybe he'll kill me on sight...-

Caleb: -Don't say that, come on. Henry studied that stuff there, psychology or something, and I trust what he says: he doesn't seem like the type to hold a grudge. Trust me, he'll be just as nervous as you are. It'll be OK, Laney. You'll see. -

Lanet: -Yeah, it probably will. –

Through it all Sylviane, under the guise of looking at the photos and cameras, had taken to eavesdropping on the entire conversation, good as she was at making herself virtually invisible from others.

"... I'm so sorry for him..."

The two brothers meanwhile discussed more and less, until Caleb said goodbye to Laney, to return to his van. A minute passed, and Sylviane was on her way to the door as well, only to be stopped for a moment by the owner's question.

Laney: -Excuse me for sounding inappropriate, but... you look familiar: what school do you attend? –

Syl: -...I go to Kadick College, ma'am... -

Laney: -Drop the "ma'am", I'm not a 50 year old woman with a candy store; just call me Laney. So you're going to the Kadick, huh? Do you happen to know a guy named Richard? Tall, redhead, aviator jacket... -

Syl: -He's a classmate and a friend of mine, actually. –

Laney: -Oh... well then, you've satisfied my curiosity, and sorry again if i'm bothering you, but...can you give my best to him?–

Syl: -No problem, i'll do. Goodbye. –

When the story ended, Richard let his head sink into the pillow and put the ice pack back on. If he had more strength in his body, he would have smacked his forehead at the absurdity, and randomness, of the event that Syl had just told him. Now not only he had endangered three boys and five other adults, but his mother was bending over backwards to apologize. Despite the fact that he felt no anger toward her whatsoever.

"Okay, guilt train, do me a favor: do not stop at my station..."

Syl: -I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping on that...-

Richard: -Why are you sorry? It's not your family, worrying is useless. –

Syl: -...Richard, I don't understand you on this matter: is it really necessary to find a reason to worry about someone? You are my friend and you saved my life, so it is the least I can do for you. –

For the umpteenth time the discussion had him cornered. The boy made to open his mouth, but immediately closed it, as if he wanted to say something only to realize it would be incoherent. And as it had been proved, Sylviane Cellier had the gift of being able to read people.

Syl: -Look, I'm won't call you a hypocrite if you say "Sorry." –

Richard: - Fine, you win, sorry. I wonder how you can predict what people are saying...-

Syl: -Years of habit. That's all. –

After that small moment of tension derived from the telling of the story, peace had returned to the Kadick infirmary. Neither of them cared to see the time that had passed since the doctor had left. They didn't even need to talk anymore; they'd made themselves clear enough for the day. The flipping of pages had returned to being the only source of noise.

The girl lifted her head from the book for a moment, after realizing she was hearing a regular and deep breathing: Richard had ended up falling asleep. Better that way, at least he would get a good rest. Sylviane watched him brooding, thinking about how much he was doing for the four of them. As if he almost wanted to protect them from something that went beyond XANA and his plans of conquest and destruction.

She was even about to put her hand in his hair, when the door to the infirmary opened, causing her arm to retract where it was. The doctor had come back in harried, as if in a race against time.

Emily: -I'm sorry to have kept you waiting three hours, but I had to make a trip to all the pharmacies in Paris! Apparently the drug was selling out! –

"...I stayed here for three hours?"

The doctor immediately went to check Richard's temperature, hoping it had improved. And it totally was: thirty-six and a half. A fever that came and went.

Emily: -Look at that, I come in with medicine and the fever is gone. Oh well, at least I have a supply ready for the other students. As soon as he wakes up he can go back to the dorm. You can leave now, Sylviane, no need to guard your boyfriend anymore! –

Hearing the last sentence, Syl was interjected. A slight blush was lighting up on her marble white skin.

Syl: -...Actually it's not my boyfriend...-

Emily: -Hahaha! It's a shame, by the way you two are acting you look like a couple. I bet that everything will change in a couple of months! -

Syl: -...Oh! Um...thanks, I guess...goodbye. –

And with the final click of the door, Dr. Emily returned to her desk to pick up her work where she left off.

In some ways it was fun to have students as patients.